


The time it takes to heal

by Fullmetal96100



Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Slavery, F/M, First story, Illnesses, Medical Examination, Triggers, alaric is alive, alaric isnt a vampire, all vampires are a slave, jenna is alive, present day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-09-23 10:23:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9651761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fullmetal96100/pseuds/Fullmetal96100
Summary: Slavery AU.Rin Winter is a werewolf with a disgust for slavery. Treating the wounds and caring for them is her specialty. When Alaric takes her to a auction to pick out the sickest and most injured vampires; Rin's views come crashing down when a male vampire is brought on to the stage in critical condition. Can Rin save him before time is up?Slow burn DamonxOC. First story so helpful criticism is welcomed! I'm kinda bad with summaries.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First story! I hope you enjoy. Maybe I should put Damon in chains later?

The time it takes to heal  
Chapter 1

  I was irritated again, mostly because I was tired from staying up all of last night. It was nothing new though. In the world that I live, humans and werewolves rain supreme. Vampires, however, have been our slaves as of some 100 years ago, most people owning dozens at a time. My dysfunctional family is considered royalty, as we are natural-born werewolves. It’s the Winter family blood line that is considered itroyalty. Except my father would argue that I’m not. I hate slavery and every concept of it.

  
  I spent the night in the medical clinic attached to my house, treating the wounds of a very injured vampire from my father’s bunch. The boy was very young, no older then twelve; his back was in bloodied strips. I couldn’t get the pain numbing cream on him fast enough. The forest still echoed his screams. He was lucky though my father only used a simple whip on him, the flogger would have bits of wood and beads of vervain in him. That takes a long time to clean out.  
My friend Alaric Saltzman shares my same beliefs, only he will buy slaves to take them off the market. Being a werewolf, I can smell the sickness coming off them, which is why I go with him even though I refuse to buy one. He isn’t a bad person; he only buys the ones that are very sick and injured. He believes it’s his duty to bring them to his house to try and give them an easy, normal life.

  The exam room smelt strongly of the disinfectant I was using to clean every surface. It was a medium sized room with snow white walls and a counter and sink next to the left wall. Above that was the largest medicine that money could buy. It was filled with anything I could ever need, from large bandages to the salt compound that took the absorbed the vervain beads from the victim’s body. In the middle of the room sat a large white chair which was originally used to torture misbehaving vampires with. I watched my father use it once; the vampire sat with his back to us where my father would use the flogger on him. I rebuilt mine so the vampire would sit on it the same, but it would rise and stretch out so I could treat any wounds easier.

  Finally done, I left the room, locking it with a passcode behind me. I left the med hall into the front room, and then up the stairs to my bedroom. My room was the biggest in the house, and my bed sat in the middle of it. There was a walk-in closet, and a grand white desk to the left of me. Clothes littered the floor; I hadn’t had much time to do laundry yet. At the foot of my bed lay a large white wolf sleeping on his own bed. He was one of my father’s experiments, being almost four and a half feet tall. I named him Wulff.

  “ Ah, it’s been a long night Wulff.” I say as I flop on my bed. He coughs at me, but doesn’t move from his spot. The screaming probably kept him up too. Suddenly I was very tired and emotional, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I was doing enough here. Was I? Of course I was, but sometimes I felt like I wasn’t.  
Ding Ding Ding! My phone’s alarm was ringing, which meant it was time for the auction. I loudly moaned and considered asking Alaric if we could go to the next one. I could already hear his answer, ‘it’s only for a few hours and all you must do is sit and sniff. You’re going Winter.’ Cursing loudly, I meandered my way into the back of the closet where my fancy auction outfit was. It was a shiny black pair of dress pants with a revealing white silk tank top. I wore a black blazer over it, which was very tight in the shoulders. It went well with my long white hair.

  
  It was time to go, and with a shout to Wulff that I was leaving, I locked up the house and got into my small blue car, rolling the tinted windows up. The auction house is only ten minutes away, and I make the drive in record time. The parking lot is full with shiny new luxury cars and people with expensive clothing filing into the gigantic house. Driving to the back of the parking lot I see Alaric leaning on his black sedan checking his watch. I pull up beside him, and he opens my door for me.

  
  “Thought you weren’t going to make it.” He says as I pull myself out the door and look the car.  
“Sorry, I was up all night with another one of my father’s victims.” I said with a sneer in my voice. “Don’t worry, I won’t leave to all the big mean vampires though.” I teased.

  
  “What would I do without my lovely wolf to guide a human like me?” He said, teasing me back.  
I only laughed as we entered the building and waited in line to register at the desk. The room was stuffy and smelt strongly of different perfumes. Men and women alike were all gossiping about their lives and placing bets on the items for sale. ‘They’re people not items’ I thought bitterly.

  
  “What are these people thinking about?” Alaric asked me.  
I have a unique gift of being a very powerful psychic. Reading minds, healing simple wounds and being telepathic was what I was known for in my small group of friends. I wasn’t born with this ability though. My father experimented on me when I was only five years old. Focusing on one person after the other, I read their minds. Almost everyone was thinking about the auction and what they were going to do with their new items. One woman was hoping for a beautiful man she could turn into her personal fuck toy. I felt like I was going to throw up, so I tuned them all out.

  
  “The same demented thoughts as usual. Sex toys, Experiments and labor.” I said with absolute disgust in my voice. It didn’t matter though; these people will never change their minds.

  
  “Never changes.” He said to himself. I gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

  
  At last it was our turn, and I could read the name tag on the woman registering us. Tracy looked at Alaric as he spoke.

  
  “Alaric Saltzman and Rin Winter, looking to buy please.” He said with a professional voice. Did he practice this?

  
  “Right here are your bidding paddles and your seat numbers. Enjoy todays merchandise.” She said with a kindness in her voice that made me want to turn and rip her throat out.

  
  Alaric thanked her and we were off into the showroom. The room was huge and set up like a theater. The main stage sat at the very front with the faded red seats before it. Our seats were at the very back, which I was happy about. Slowly people filed in, meeting friends and chatting about their days and the weather. It really didn’t matter to them that they were here to buy a person.

  
  I watched a fat man trying to force his way in when I opened my mouth and took a deep breath. Faintly I could smell the warm sent of sickness.  
I think there’s someone here that fits your standards. I thought to him.

  
  One can hope, right? He looked worried.

  
  The auctioneer walked up to the stage and took his place at the podium on the left of the stage.

  
  “Ladies and gentleman, welcome!” He shouts, shutting the crowd up.  
Two guards bring in the first vampire to the middle of the stage and force her on her knees. She has short red hair and a white tank top and black shorts on. She kept her head bowed as the man spoke. I saw the thick leather collar around her neck.

  
  “Our first is a lovely female with no bad marks in her file. She has had only one master and is in prime condition. The bidding will start at seven hundred!” He shouted and the dozens of voices started shouting. The girl wasn’t ill or injured, so I shook my head and Alaric sighed, angered. I was sure he would buy all of them here if he could. The price evened out and she went for twelve hundred to a man in the front row wearing a suit. Slowly, one by one the vampires were sold off to the highest bidder, none of them sick or injured.

  
  Half way though the auction the guards dragged out a tall woman with blonde hair. They forced her to her knees like everyone else, only this time I could smell blood and the stench of sickness I had smelt when I first sat down.  
Her, Alaric. I thought and he leaned forward.

  
  “This young beauty has had only two other masters and no bad marks in her file. Shall we start at five hundred?” He says like it’s a joke.

  
  Alaric makes no move to bid until it gets higher and only two people are left bidding. The price is moving slowly and has only reached nine hundred when he raises his paddle and shouts.

  
  “Eleven hundred!”

  
  The other two men are silent for a second, then slowly put down their paddles to back out of this one.

  
  “No other bidders? Then sold to the gentleman in the back!” He shouts and claps his hands. I turn my attention to the girl as she’s dragged off the stage. Oh, god no! Not another man! She thinks; I can smell the saltiness of her tears.

  
  The auction continues and I ignore the obnoxious man speaking. I sighed to myself and catch the stench again. There’s another one? I thought it was just the girl. Someone else was still sick back there. As the auction gets down to the last five people, the smell suddenly magnifies and then the guards bring out a male vampire. He is handsome with chiseled features in his face and a muscular body. He was trying to keep weight off his left leg so he was kneeling weird. A guard brings a heavy blow down on his back and I can see him lock his jaw together to keep from screaming. He was wounded terribly. I coughed again, the stench burning my throat.

  
  This was the first time I had even seen someone this sick. He was so weak, but determined not to seem so. My guard was down. I heard the lady from the lobby get excited and think ‘Ah that’s the one!’ I gave Alaric a pleading look. ‘Save him!’ I shouted at Alaric with my mind. But I knew there was no hope for him to treat someone so badly injured. He needed a specialist. Without a second thought, I decided that person would be me.

  
  “Now we have a handsome man for you ladies. He has had only two masters but he has a few marks of disobediences on him. Nothing a good whipping won’t cure!” He said, and the crowd laughs. Did the vampire just smirk? I look at him, but he’s staring at the ground again.

  
  “Let’s start at twelve hundred for him!” He says and suddenly the crowd starts to shout and paddles wave in the air. The price goes up and up and finally it’s the nasty lady and another blonde lady bidding on him.

  
  “Three thousand!” I shout, earning a glare from the nasty lady. She doesn’t bid again.  
‘Damn bitch, let her have him. There’s lots of others to choose from!’ She thinks and I grin to myself. The blonde lady drops out as well and the auctioneer shouts: “Sold!” The guards force him to his feet and he stumbles, earning another blow to the back. I focus to his mind, and hear him say ‘She’s young this time. Wonder how long until I die? Or maybe she will sell me before. I just want to kill these guards. His mind goes blank as he is dragged away.

  
  He’s dying. He’s really dying. Can I even save him? I had to try now, no matter what. If anything, his last days would be in comfort. I wouldn’t let him suffer in a pain that I know I can heal. After the last of the vampires are sold off and the auction ends, I rush out of the show room.

  
  “Winter, hold on!” Alaric shouts grabbing my hand.

  
  Oh, right, I needed to pay for him. “Uh, now what do we do?” I ask him fiddling with my hands. I never stuck around; Alaric always does this part alone. He leads me to the reception desk again and Tracy smiles at us.

  
  “Hello again! Congrants on the merchandise you bought!” She says, her voice annoyingly happy. “Please fill this out and hand it back to me. When would you like to have him dropped off, ma’am?” She asks me. The paperwork is just asking me for my name, address, and billing info.

  
  “How about in two hours?” I ask. That would leave me time to get everything set up in the exam room. This was going to be another long night. I hand back the paperwork.

  
   “Excellent. I’ll let them know.” She says, turning to take care of Alaric.

  
  Going to the cars. Meet you there.’ I thought and walked into the parking lot again. Standing by my car, I made a mental list of the things I needed to get out. The salt and the burn gauze were necessary. The numbing cream would be used too. I start to go over what he could be sick with, and what would be best to treat him when Alaric arrives.

  
  “What happened in there? Why did you buy him?” He asks

  
  “I panicked. He is the worst I’ve ever encountered, only a specialist can save him now, and I’m not even sure that I can.” I say. This was starting to look grim.

  
  Alaric shook his head. “You’re the only one who treats vampires, I believe in your skills. I know you can do it.” He says, reassuring me.

  
  I can’t decide if I believe him or not, but I’m going to try. “Thank you, I’m going to go home now. Lots to prepare for.” I say and he nods. I slip back into my car and turn it on. I needed to get out of here, so I sped down the road to my house. Unlocking the front door, I check the clock. 9:10am. I had barely two hours to do this. Inside my exam room I bring everything out on the counter for quick access.

  
  Grabbing the burn pads and stacking them up neatly on the counter, I check my big ones in the back. I had only two left, so I would need to buy more later. It would have to do for now. With everything in order, I checked the clock again, only twenty minutes had passed.

  
  He needs a bedroom moron! Deciding I wanted him as close to me as possible, I set up the room next to mine. It was decent size with a large window. There was a full bed in the corner, a desk, and a dresser. Quickly, I dusted the room and changed the sheets. I left the comforter on the bed and another blanket folded over the foot of the bed. I open the window to let in the breeze and to air the room out. This would do for now.

  
  Leaving the room, I start to pace in mine. Wulff watched me the entire time. Suddenly he growls and I hear the screeching of brakes.

  
  “Oh, god Wulff, here we go.” I say and someone knocks at my front door.

  
  Like it or not, it was time to welcome in my newest patient.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter goes all doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the first chapter. Here's the second!

Chapter 2  
  
  Taking one last look at Wulff, I opened the door with anticipation. The sight that greeted me was not what I was expecting. The slave was sitting in a black chair totally restrained with black straps over his body. His arms where tightly strapped to the arm rest, his back sitting unnaturally straight against the back of the chair. I could only guess how that felt against his wounds.

  
  “Miss Rin Winter?” The man holding onto the handles asked.  
“Please, just Winter. Come on in.” I say, standing to the side and letting them in. The slave still stared at the ground.

  
 Anxiety was beating in my chest when they wheeled him into the front room. He was wearing an old faded white shirt that hung loosely on his frame along with black pants. He wore dingy rubber shoes with no socks. He smelt strongly of infection; his was skin sickly pale.

  
  ‘So, they starved him too.’ There was no way they didn’t, healthy vampires at least have pigment to their skin.

  
 “Ms. Winter, we are from Caravan Traders, we would like to thank you for your purchase. We brought with us a starter supply kit and a manual on how to train your new vampire.” The black haired one said, sounding bored. He handed me said supplies. Clearly this was standard protocol. It was like they were handing me a new puppy. A very large puppy with killing instincts in every part of his genes.

  
 “Any questions can be answered with that manual, as well as calling the number on the front cover.” He continued.

  
 In the corner of my eye, I noticed Wulff sniffing the vampire with interest. His body tenses up slightly as Wulff sniffs what I assume to be his bad leg.

  
 “Wulff, come away from him.” I said sternly. 

  
  “Why is he restrained in that chair?” I asked.

  
 “Oh this?” The bald one pats the chair. “This is what we use to transport these leeches with.” Both laugh. The black haired one opens the manual to a page in the back of the book. He turns it to me, and I see the biggest selection of whips and floggers; Both small and thin ones made to barely leave marks, generally used for sex play. Floggers with different kinds of metal and wood.

  The worst ones had vervain beads; beads that when left in their body would slowly dissolve, bringing pain like they were being hit all over again. It would last for days, making it very difficult to do anything but lay there and wait for it to pass.

  
 Black hair points to the vervain floggers and smiles. “These here are what’s best for this one.” He says and laughs again. I try to keep the horror off my face and just nod.

  
 The men finally turn to leave the house, when suddenly one turns to the slave and yanks his head up to snarl in his face: “Hope I get to see you again, leech.” I rush forward and grab his hand, making him let go.

  
 “It’s rude to touch another’s property, sir.” I hissed. I wanted to hit him so badly.

  
 “My apologies, ma’am.” He said wiping his hands on his clothes, like the vampire had spread his germs just by glaring at him. Without another word, they both turn and leave; Closing the door behind them, they left me alone with him.

  
 Ok, what’s first Rin? I need to get him out of the chair. I couldn’t asses his injuries here. I walk in front of him and take a deep breath.

  
 “Look at me please.” I say, more uncertain then I wanted. He looks up and I’m caught off guard again. His eyes have totally captivated me. The deepest blue stared back at me and I didn’t want to look away. He radiated strength and rage in them, piercing my soul.

  
 “My name is Winter. What’s yours?” I ask, looking away.

  
 “You can call me whatever you want, master.” He said master in a funny way, like he was mocking me. My name? Haven’t used it in years. His thoughts floated into my head like the breeze.

  
 “What do people call you then?” I asked, still uncertain. Was I supposed to name him?

 What does it matter? Just call me what you want to. I’m sure you’ll have a new name for me anyway. His thoughts were very annoyed. “I’ve been called monster, leech, and blood sucker mostly. Perhaps one of them will do?” He had a certain charm to his voice, like he was trying his best to defy me without it seeming so.

  
 “Ok, and what about the name your parents gave you? I mean, I don’t know how old you are or anything like that, but do you have one?” I ask.

  
 It took him a minute to respond.  
“Damon. Damon Salvatore, then.” He replied. I could tell he didn’t want to tell me his real name.

  
 “All right, I’m going to take these off now.” I said, and knelt in front of him. I grabbed the first strap on his leg and pulled. I grabed the one on his other leg, then moved up the rest of him. I take the one around his chest off, but he still sits completely straight.

  
 There was nothing I could do here, so I got behind him and pushed him out of my front room down the medical hallway; I listening to his thoughts all the way.

  
 The hallway always smells like chemicals and blood to me, but the smell catches him off guard. I hear him think: ‘She’s going to experiment on me already? There goes my afternoon plans.’ The last part made me smile, not that he could see me. He was stronger than I had originally thought. I tried not to let the hope build too high. There was still a long night ahead of us.

  
 I stop just outside the exam room and enter in the passcode. The lock dings, the door slightly opens, and I turn to Damon.

  
 “Follow me in here please.” I say, opening the door.

  
 Stepping inside, I take one last look at my inventory. Everything was in place and ready to go. It was now or never. Damon was staring with a grim face at himself in the mirror. ‘Didn’t expect the chair, what sick twisted things does she have planned?’

  
 “I need you to take off your shirt and your pants, please. Lay on your stomach on the chair.” I wanted to look at the back wound. I had the feeling those traders whipped him before coming here. I could already smell the vervain. I grab a clean cloth and pour a disinfectant on it. I needed to clean the wound to see how bad it was. Cloth in hand, I turn and get the first look at his back. For once, I was not surprised. I was in my element.

  
 It was a bloody mess with strips of skin hanging loosely. Splinters of wood stuck out in painful positions. I could tell how hard and fast the whip would have been going. It was like someone had taken a knife and started carving chunks of meat off. Like he was an animal being slaughtered. Even my father’s slaves were never this bad. What have they done to you?

  
 “I’m going to start by cleaning your wounds. This part might sting a little, but please try to hold still. I don’t want to hurt you more.” I say, talking as gently as possible. Usually I apply numbing cream to the area first then clean, but there was a risk the wounds would start to close.

  
 Gently, I start to clean the open wounds. With every touch, he would tense up, but didn’t move. ‘That’s it? Come on, you got to do better. I might start to think you’re weak, and we can’t have that.’ His words trickled into my head as I cleaned out each mark. He was hiding his pain behind his arrogance, but I didn’t say anything. Taking my time treating every angry mark, I started to see just how bad the damage was. Nerve endings lay exposed, and pieces of wood lay imbedded deep inside the muscles. Looking closely, I could see the clear beads of vervain laying like eggs in the wounds.

  
 His back was as clean as I could get it, and I put the soaked bloody cloth in the sink. Then I grab the numbing cream. It’s cool against my fingertips; It’s extremely cold when first applied, taking the heat and the pain away. It was my favorite thing, and it was a relief to take the pain away.

  
 “I’m putting the numbing cream on now, it’s going to be very cold at first, but won’t hurt. This will last for a long time.” I say as I take a large amount into my hands.

  
 Numbing cream? Why is she- His mind cuts out when I touch his back. His body tries to relax to my touch, but I’ve startled him. He trembles slightly for a moment, and tries to ignore my touch. Each time I touch him brings the same reaction from, and it concerns me. He wasn’t just beat apparently. The cream starts to work however. It disappears and he can’t feel me touching him anymore. After every inch of his back is covered in it, and I can no longer see it, I reach for a large pair of tweezers.

  
 “I’m going to take the wood chips out now. Don’t worry, you won’t feel any pain.” I say and latch on to the first one near his left shoulder blade. I pull and pull, taking out nearly forty pieces before I stop.

  
 “How are you doing, Damon?” I asked. He was resting his head against his arm with his eyes closed. He jumped like he forgot I was there. His mind became a whirlwind of thoughts as he tried to decide what I meant by that. ‘Was I supposed to be paying attention? I can’t even feel anything though. Damn it!’

  
 “Your pain, what’s it at?” I asked again, clarifying my question.  
“I’m all right master, don’t worry about me.” He said cautiously. He decided he wasn’t going to push it, and say his leg was in excruciating pain.

  
 'He thinks I’m going to hurt him for saying he’s in pain. That’s just messed up.’ I thought. My anger was seriously starting to boil.  
With a final tug, I remove the last piece of wood from his back. The skin was angry and inflamed now, but it would go down after it settled. Now the hard part, dissolving the vervain beads.  
I place the bloodied tweezers in the sink with the cloth, then fish out two clean towels from the drawer and grab the bag with the salt compound. The thing that made this tricky was that when you applied it to the wound, the salt would grow and start to fizz, like a soda does. When it starts to fizz, you take the towel and wipe it off. You must do this quickly though or the vervain bleeds through and will burn like hell.

  
 “I’m going to pour this salt mixture on your back now. It’s going to dissolve the vervain beads. It won’t hurt.” I say.

  
 'Hold on, what? I’ve never heard of something like this.’ He was getting nervous again.

  
 Too late to back out now; I start pouring it on him little by little until his back is covered in a grey blanket. A few seconds later it starts to turn a dirty yellow and starts to fizz. I start to wipe his back off, going as fast as I can. I have no problem though, and within a couple of seconds it’s clean. Finally, his back is done. Taking the largest bandage I have, I unwrap it and place it gently over his whole back. The bandage has a thick layer of this burn goop that sticks to him like glue. It would stay cool against his back, even when the numbness wears off.

  
 “All right, I’m done with your back now. Can you turn around and sit up in the chair please?” I ask and reach into the cabinet under the sink to grab a pure white shirt for him to wear.

  
 Damon sits up and takes the shirt, putting it on. Then he sits there without saying a word. I notice even his mind is quiet. The pain was gone but he was still sick. I grab my stethoscope.

  
 “I’m going to listen to your heart and lungs now. Just relax.” I say. I know he won’t. He seems to be very uncomfortable with me touching him. He doesn’t flinch away, however, when I put the cold metal piece down his shirt and up against his heart. The rhythm was uneven and fast, like it is when you’re nervous and fighting an infection. I move to his lungs and swear. He was having trouble breathing; his lungs were full of some thick fluid. It was bad, but I knew how to treat it.

  
 “I’m going to take your pulse,” I say and gently grab his arm.  
My thumb rubs over something hard and just below the surface.

  ‘It’s the feeding implant.’ The implant stops a vampire from being able to feed enough to get their strength back, no matter the kind of blood. It cancels out their ability to compel people, and also their super human speed. It cuts their strength as well, and they can’t heal as fast. These chips are why we won the war. They’re so damning to a vampire. I knew I needed to remove it. He needed blood to fully heal, and the implant wouldn’t let him take enough to do so. Quickly I grab a scalpel and slip under the chip. The cut is wide enough that I just slide it out and it pops on the floor. Damon barely flinched when I cut him.

  
 “Sorry, I thought I’d just do it quickly. It’s gone now though.” I said to him.

  
 Turning around, I go to the different medicines on the counter and mix the strongest antibiotic I knew. Along with that, I add something to break down and dissolve the fluid in his lungs. The medicine looked like something out of a witch’s spell book, and smelt like it. I was confident in it though, and I place it on the counter.

  
 The only thing left was the leg. It was badly bruised, but not broken. It’s a deep purple, and black spots went from just below his knee cap to the ankle. I take a bruising cream and rub it on, then wrap it with white bandages.  
I check every other part of him closely, looking for cuts or bruises, but find nothing. By this time, he was exhausted and more than a little confused. As he had said, this was not what he had thought was going to happen. He was wrapped up tight in different bandages and felt little pain.

  
 “I’m done. Please follow me now.” I say and grab the medicine with tired hands.

  
 I leave the room unlocked. Damon wobbles a little as he walks, clearly still feeling very numb. I open the door to his bedroom and walk in. The day was gone, but it left it cool in the room.

  
 “It’s not much, but this is your room. You can use anything in here.” I say. Damon is looking around but stops to look at me as I talk. I hand him the medicine.

  
 “This is going to taste revolting, but it’s an antibiotic that’s going to help. Though it’s going to make you very sleepy.” I tell him. He takes it from me and drinks it in one gulp. He cringes at the taste.

  
 “You should go to bed now. You need rest to heal. You are safe here.” I say finally, and I truly believe it. I can protect him. He looks at me with a piercing gaze but says nothing. He climbs into his bed, but doesn’t lay down.  
“Thank you, master.” He says. I know he means it.

  
 “It’s Winter, good night.” I smile at him. He lays down and turns away from me.

  
  'Winter huh? Interesting name. I wonder, what is she going to do with-‘ The thought cuts off as he finally drifts off to sleep.

  
 For the first time, I feel I might be able to do this.  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are welcome.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if Damon seems a little OOC. Just remember he's been a servant and tortured for a hundred years or so. He will be back to his sarcastic arrogant ways soon enough. Enjoy!

_It felt like the middle of winter in this room. The stone walls let in cold air from outside and did nothing to warm my body. For the moment, it was silent, apart from the metallic ring from the chains holding my arms up painfully over my head. She left me in her fun room again after leaving vervain beads in my back. I still remember the first time I felt those; I just did as I was told now no matter how humiliating the task. Anything to escape that._

_My mind was fuzzy; she was draining me of blood again. My feet where dancing in the pool below me, turning them red. My head was bobbing up and down as I fought off the urge to fall asleep. I didn’t want to die, and have to start this all over again, that was against the rules._

_“My my, Damon, look at the stain your leaving all over my floor.” She said sliding the iron door open. Her hands traced each agonizing slash mark on my back.  
I coughed up blood, splattering it all over her high heel shoes. “Just wanted to leave a nice present for when you came back.” I said before I could stop myself. Oh, boy I thought. “Would you like me to clean it up, Master?” I said with malice in my voice. _

_I paid for that one in record time as she dug clawed fingernails into my back, bursting several beads in the wounds. This time I couldn’t fight back the agonizing scream.  
“Oh, I think that’s a great idea, Damon.” Her voice was colder than the room now. _

_Suddenly the chains fell loose from the ceiling and I fell into the blood underneath me. The blood stained my ragged pants. The smell of my own blood made me wrench up what was left in my stomach. Vampires are basically allergic to their own blood._

_No time to recover, she suddenly dug her heel into my back, sprawling me out on the blood-soaked floor. “You must be starving, and look, a fresh supply of blood!” her heel pressed down even harder now. “ Drink. Every. Drop. Of. it.” She said each word stomping on me, chasing each breath out of me._

_Out of everything, this woman, no, Monster, has done to me this had to be a new high for her. Terror filled me up and adrenaline raced through my body. She can’t seriously think I’ll do this? I thought._

_“You know I can’t do that.” I tried to reason with her. It was hopeless though._

_“Drink it! Now!” She said forcing my head closer to the floor._

_With the last of my strength I fought against her hand forcing my head to ground. The strain made my muscles like rubber, my bones like plastic, but this life was too hard on my body and I couldn’t fight it anymore. My face splashed in my own blood. I open my mouth to sip the blood and the moment it passes my lips I scream and struggle to free myself. ___

__With a gasp, I finally wake up from the nightmare. My head was swimming, my heart racing and I could feel the panic settling in. I was very disoriented, and feeling like I was tied down wasn’t helping. _Close your eyes, deep breaths, the master can’t find me like this. _I thought. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Deep breath in, deep breath out. My heart slows and I breathe evenly after a while. Everything comes rushing back now._ _ __

__I was still laying in the bed Winter left me in. My panic attack now over, I drag myself into a sitting position. First thing I notice is I’m under the blankets which I know I wasn’t when I fell asleep. I felt annoyed now, _did she seriously tuck me in like a child? This girl must be very dumb, or very sadistic. _  
I was extremely hungry, probably why I had a nightmare about her. I haven’t eaten in days. It wasn’t food I was craving either, but I could do nothing about it. I fiddle with the white bandage where she had taken out the feeding implant._ _ __

__My bed sat against the right wall of my room. Behind me was an enormous window, with pearl white drapes across the window. They had to be made with black out fabric because no sunlight came in even though it was morning. On the wall opposite of me was a tall white wardrobe with a mahogany desk next to it. My bed was covered in a thick black comforter that was more comfortable then I was willing to admit. It beat sleeping on a dog bed or concrete. On the other side of the wardrobe was the door, which was closed. Next to it, a few feet from my bed, was a small end table with a metal plate and lid. There was a note on it._ _

__To curious to care, I pull my blanket off my legs and stand up. My legs were shaky and I struggled to find my balance. I walk over to the table and pick up the note. I have to reread the first part when I realize its addressed to me._ _

___Damon,_  
There’s another dose of the medicine under this. It’s different so it won’t knock you out. Take it.  
-Winter 

__I put the note down, lift the lid and the smell of the medicine fills the room. It’s a minty green and looked almost like pudding. I swallow it in one gulp and cough, it’s very minty. In seconds, I can feel my lungs relax, and for the first time in a while, I can breathe a little easier. Placing the cup down I return to my bed and sit._ _

__A small knock forces me from my thoughts and Winter walks in._ _

__“You’re awake, finally.” She says pulling in a white cart behind her with more bandages and needles. Off to the side was another metal bowl covered with a lid._ _

___Needles? Really? _I think. Was she going to inject vervain in him?_ _ __

__“I don’t know if you remember, but my name is Winter. You’re at my house. I’m going to change your dressings and give you stuff for any pain.” She said approaching me.  
Seriously? Still going with the doctor angle? Then again, the medicine seemed to help, so who knew._ _

__Winter reaches for my arm and I try not to flinch. Gently she takes the old bandage off and checks the wound. Seeing nothing wrong, she raps it back up with the new one.  
“Can you take off your shirt for me and lay down on your stomach? Stay as still as you can please” She asks. I slipped it off without a thought and lay down._ _

__Winter pries the largest bandage off on my back and says nothing. I can feel her hands on my back as she checks the wounds. That numbing stuff was gone, and without the bandage it starts to burn again. She puts a new one on and the pain melts away._ _

__I could feel my anxiety rising as she touched each part of me, checking every wound. My mind had nowhere to go as anxiety turn to panic. _Stay still damnit! _I shout as my body started to tremble from her touch._ _ __

__Winter touches the base of my neck and I snap. Without any warning, I slap her hand away and scramble to the other end of the bed. Seconds pass as I stare at her. Her face is cold, her emerald eyes burning with fury. The anger was comforting though, I knew what to expect now._ _

__“Master, I deeply apologize for disobeying you. Please punish me anyway you see fit.” I say in a formal tone. I move off the bed and bow at her feet. My back burns as I move into the familiar, but agonizing position. I felt intense shame as I took comfort in knowing what was coming next._ _

___“Damon, no. I’m not going to hurt you. It’s my fault, not yours. Please just get up and sit back down.” She pleads with me her eyes suddenly softening. Not what I was expecting._  
I sit back down on the bed but don’t look at her. She’s quiet and I focus on the classical music playing from the hall to distract myself.  
Winters hands are folded in her lap and she has a deep look of concentration on her face. I notice one of her hands is slightly red. 

__“Forgive me for hurting your hand.” I say in the same tone as before._ _

__Winter unfolds her hands and chuckles lightly. It’s soft and full of warmth, not cruel like I was used too. The tension and awkwardness fades from the room.  
“Don’t worry, you just surprised me is all. I didn’t even feel it honestly. I’m sorry I scared you.” She says softly. She stands up and lifts the lid of the bowl and brings out a _bag of blood. ___ __

___“Drink this, you need to build your strength to fight this infection off.” She hands me the blood, and I can only imagine the look of astonishment on my face._  
Winter piles up all the garbage and places it on the cart. She places the bowl on the end table revealing more blood bags. She pushes the cart to the door before turning around and grabbing something out of her pocket. It’s a black leather wrist band with a small silver plank which just simply said RW on it in fancy lettering. She hands it to me.  
“Sorry but you have to wear that, apparently, it’s a law. But I’ve also made it your daylight band so you can go in the light. I tried to keep it simple for you.” She paused, then said: “Just try to rest, I’ll be back later to check on you.” With that she left, leaving me confused. 

__She was not even all the way down the hall before I rip into the first blood bag. It exploded in my mouth like fireworks, and I sank to my knees as I drank every drop. With this bag finished, I discard it to some corner of the room and rakishly drank the second one, the third one. All the bags but one lay around me before I can control myself again. I haven’t drunk that much in years; my stomach was full._ _

__Several moments pass before I stand up and place the bags back in the bowl, leaving the full one hidden under my pillow. Who knew when I could drink again? Why wouldn’t I take advantage of this opportunity? It’s literally laying in front of me, stupid girl! Laying back in the bed I felt I had bested her in some sick game. I refused to believe she would never hurt me, no I will not fall for that.  
I let my head fall against the pillow and fall asleep. _ _

__

__Soft music is playing when I open my eyes again. I couldn’t figure out why I had woken up, then I notice out the corner of my eye Winter placing another dose of that medicine on the table._ _

__She turns around and I close my eyes, pretending to be asleep. She leaves the door open this time when she leaves._ _

__I start to stand up when I notice I don’t feel right. I was too tired and weak for someone who had just fed. It was hard to breathe and when I tried to stand up I got light headed and nearly fell. I groaned aloud and drag myself into bed._ _

__I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. _Master has poisoned me. ___ __

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about any formatting issues, still getting used to it. Please leave a comment and a kudos! They feed my hungry children!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late! Next one will be on time. (Once a month or twice if i have time) I moved and had to get a new computer. Anyways enjoy! as always leave a comment, it helps out greatly!

Damon wasn’t getting any better. In fact, he was getting worse, much worse. His lungs sounded terrible, like they were full of water. He had a fever that wouldn’t break, no matter how hard I tried to get rid of it. He would sleep for hours, and only be awake for a few minutes when I fed him blood and medicine. His thoughts where rambled and dark. Each time he woke he was weaker than the time before. He was truly suffering.

None of the medicines I made would help for very long. I was at a loss for what to do. Never in my life had I seen someone so sick. The only good part was that none of his wounds were infected; most had healed.

I was sitting in my office in the medical hall. In front of me were notes I wrote about everything I had tried so far. I was no further into finding a cure than I had been when he first got here. That was nearly a month ago. The only reason he wasn’t dead yet was my sheer determination. But I was running on fumes; never sleeping for longer than an hour at a time. Most days I slept for 3 hours, maybe. I was frustrated and wearing down, I was running out of things to try, and I was running out of time. He was running out of time.

I shook my head vigorously and stood up, stretching with my arms high over my head. After that I left my messy office for the exam room. Inside was my slightly unorganized table full of different medicines and empty vials. It was a mess, but I was ignoring that for now. Looking past the mess I took the vial of Morif, a very powerful antibiotic, and the strongest detoxing I had. I hadn’t tried this mixture yet. It could hurt him if I put in too high of a dose. It was risky, but it was the only left I could try.

Mixing it only takes a second, and I’d portioned it out into a small cup so he could drink it. Placing an air tight seal on the rest, I placed it away from the failed mixtures. Before I walked out the door, I grabbed two blood bags and close the door behind me.

Damon’s room is dark, with little light flowing in. The blinds were closed for more privacy. On the floor by his bed was Wulff, sleeping with his massive head on him paws. He perks up when I walk in though.

“Good boy, keeping him company. I’m sure he needs a friend right now.” I say to Wulff.

He grunts in response, getting up and walking over to me to sniff me. He turns to Damon’s bed and whines. Wulff didn’t like the oder that was coming off him. Neither did I. Walking up to Damon, I place the medicine on the counter and look at him.

He was pale and thin in the face. His mouth was cracked open as he tried to breathe. I had him hooked up to an oxygen tank to help him, but it did little. His hair stuck to his forehead from the sweat. He had just a thin blanket covering him that he kicked off himself so it only covered his legs. His white shirt raised up and down swiftly as he breathed.

Damon was mumbling in his sleep, which wasn’t new. I couldn't make out what he was saying. He sounded frightened, but I just ignored it. He was slowly slipping away into his mind. I sit down next to him on the bed and take his arm, rubbing calming circles into it. His skin was burning to the touch, but I kept rubbing. He quieted down and seemed to relax.

My touching woke him from his hazy nightmare, and he looked up with unfocused eyes. As I stood up, he saw my movement in the corner of his eyes and turned to look at me. Focusing on me, he suddenly tensed up and yanked his arm out of my reach.

“No… please stop, I’ll obey now, please no more.” He said in a painful whisper. He struggled to free himself from the blankets. I rushed forward, placed my hands on his shoulders and pushed him back against his pillows.

“It’s alright, don’t struggle.” I said in the calmest voice I could. With my face closer to his, he finally recognized me and laid still.

This worried me. He had never gotten so confused as to where he didn’t recognize me before. I felt the familiar rage inside when he begged me to stop. He truly thought I was doing this to him on purpose. Sadly, I knew that from when I read his mind a few days ago. He believes I am poisoning him. He tried to put up a fight at first, but as he became weaker he stopped fighting.

I hand him the vile of medicine to take, and he sips it up without a word. He screws his eyes shut from the taste that I could only describe as bleach.

“Sorry, that’s some strong stuff. It doesn’t taste good in the slightest.” I said.

Damon says nothing but stares at the blood bags beside me. I hand them to him and take the empty vile, placing it into my lab coat. Damon has sucked the first bag dry and is ripping into the second one. Half way through it he stops, panting from being in the feeding frenzy. He closes his eyes for a second and suddenly vomits up all the blood.

“Damon!” I yell and rush to his side. He’s wheezing, still coughing and gasping for air. I rub his back till the episode passes; when it does he slumps over to the side. Looking down at mess, I can see hints of thick green mucus in the large red puddle. He can’t even stomach blood anymore.

“Just get it over with already, kill me.” He says.

“Shh, Damon, I’m not going to kill you. You’re just very sick right now.” I say wiping his mouth with my sleeve and helping him into bed.

Damon says nothing as he slips back to his hellish sleep. He’s already mumbling as I leave the room to get the mop bucket. With a round of medicine wasted, I decide to mix it into something I could inject him with. He was having a challenging time keeping anything down now.

With the mopping done, I return to my office, leaving Wulff watching over him. Sitting down, I ball my fist into my hair and lay my head down on the desk. A breath of defeat leaves me, and I let out a moan.

What am I missing? I think to myself. He had an infection, I knew that without a doubt. But everything I’ve tried has done nothing to help. His fever is increasing by the day. His body is becoming weaker. What would happen when his body gives out and he can’t fight anymore? There was no life support for a vampire. Had I come this far just to watch him slowly and painfully die? I couldn’t believe that. I refused to; if I gave up before he did, he would die and that wasn’t something I could live with.

I look up from the desk and stare into the dusk sky. It was beautiful as always, and I would be damned if I didn’t help Damon see that again.

My confidence restored; I leaned back in my chair. With the gentle breeze blowing in my office, I fall asleep.

A low growl wakes me from my sleep. Looking in from the doorway was Wulff; he gave another growl at me. Fully awake, I sit up and listen to the house. I know why Wulff woke me up instantly, and I make a mad dash to the stairs and up to Damon’s room. Damon is in his bed thrashing about and moaning. He slashed the air at invisible enemies; his fuzzy eyes glaring madly around the room. I am honestly surprised that I didn’t hear him from downstairs.

I rush to his side and attempt to restrain his arms to his side. “Damon!” I shout as we fight. He gives no sign that he hears me, and gives me a surprise shove. I land on my butt, my hand crushing the empty vile inside my pocket. Class scatters across the floor, cutting me. It’s a small cut across my left palm that barely bleeds.

“Hungry, so hungry.” Damon mumbles suddenly. He could smell the warm blood coming from the wound.

Quickly, I get up from the floor and drop onto the bed to restrain him. The trouble is that he wasn’t there anymore.

“Shit!” I yell, looking around the room for him. I was grateful that I had night vision, but so did he. I wasn’t dealing with a sick slave, I was dealing with a starving and enraged vampire.

I don’t even make it off the bed when something crashed into me, sending me sprawling on the floor and knocking the cart across the room. I have just enough time to flip over onto my back when Damon lands on me, grabbing my arms and trying to pin them above my head. The frenzy of fresh blood made him strong, but I was still stronger. I kick his bad leg, he loses his balance, and I slip out from underneath him.

My blood was pulsing and I have to fight with my instincts to keep from changing. Being a wolf would only make things worse. Damon recovers quickly, and rushes at me with his vampire speed. I dive out of the way, but not far enough out of his grasp. He grabs my arm and we fall to the ground again with him on top. I punch him hard in the gut to unbalance him, but he was ready for that. He goes for a punch to my face and I block it with my arms. But that was only a distraction for me as he grabs my left wrist and pins it above my head.

I struggle for a second to free my wrist when he sinks his teeth into my throat. I let out a shocked gasp, but not from the pain. In fact, I didn’t feel pain. 

“Damon, Stop!” I screamed, but he didn’t listen. He slid his other arm under me like pressed me against his chest in a death lock. I punched him over and over on his back, but he just ignored it. The will to fight was leaving me. I hadn’t lost enough blood for that to happen! What the hell had he done to me?! My body was starting to relax in his hold and I couldn’t find the will to keep fighting him.  
“Damon, please.” I whisper as a last attempt to get through to him.

He stops momentarily, and Wulff tackles him off me. He lets out a yell as he hits the floor and looks around in surprise, coughing slightly.

Wulff stands over me protectively, still growling at Damon; he still looks very surprised at what happened.

“Where the hell where you like a minute ago?!” I yell, still gasping for air but grateful anyways.

I had no idea what just happened. The last time someone bit me, I was able to throw him off with ease. I couldn’t even move; it was like I was paralyzed.

“Winter?” Damon said, snapping me from my thoughts. He look terrified. He did just attack his master. His mind was racing, and he couldn’t string together a single solid thought.  
“Winter, what happened? I don’t remember.” He said. “Did…did I attack you?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t think you knew what you were doing.” I explained.

Actually looking at him, I see bruises on his arms, making me go full doctor mode again. I leap up from the floor and rush to his side. He didn’t look too bad considering I really held back. “Are you OK?” I ask him while going over everything. He just nods his head. I help him up from the floor and help him to his bed. He’s still breathing hard so I make him sit in an upright position. No words are said as I check him for injuries. His back has fist sized welts on it. I felt intense shame as the angry red and blue welts stared at me. I had hurt him. I didn’t mean too, but it was already done.  
I move on from his back to check the leg I attacked. This looked bad, I actually did hurt him pretty bad. Just below the kneecap was a large black and blue bruise in the shape of my shoe. It was swollen to the size of my fist, and puffy. I had undone all the work that went into healing it with a simple kick.

“I’m going to get some supplies, stay there and don’t move around.” I say and rush out the door.

I reach the exam room in record time, unlocking the door and searching for what I need. I grab things off the counter without mercy, sending old vials crashing to the ground. I didn’t care about the mess right now. I scoop up bandages and bruise cream in one hand, and a cold press for swelling in the other. I leave the room without locking it and rush back up the stairs.

Damon was sitting in the exact position as I left him. He was looking around the room. It was also a disaster. The end table was broke, it’s legs were scattered across the room. The cart was across the room was laying on its side. Small drops of blood lay next to the bed.

“Here, I brought these.” I say and kneel in front of him, taking the cold press and wrapping it in a towel and apply it directly to the leg.

“Hold this to your leg please.” He takes it from me.

I move to the other side of the bed and lift his shirt up. Scooping the cream on my fingers, I rub each welt gently and place a bandage on it. I didn’t notice it before, but I could see the scars from the floggings. It takes a lot to scar a vampire, everyone knew that.

I move back in front of him, and he looks up at me. He eyes were clear but still worried. He lets out a sigh.

“What now?” He says to me, “What are you going to do with me?”

I look at him and frown. “What do you mean?”

“I attacked you. Aren’t you going to punish me? Or send me back to the auction house?” He asks. He sounded a little angry, like he was questioning why I just treated him.

“I’m not sending you anywhere, Damon. I’m not going to punish you for attacking me when it wasn’t your fault.” I say.

“It wasn’t my fault? Really are you that stupid? I attacked you, and I was going to kill you if that dog hadn’t tackled me off you. I was dying the moment I came here, and I haven’t done a single thing here, except sleep.” He was becoming angry and started to speak his mind. “I can’t figure you out. One moment I’m sure you’re poisoning me, then the next you’re wrapping me up like a child.” He drops the cold press to the ground.

“You confuse me, and I should hate the air you breathe but it’s nearly impossible.” He sounded defeated.

I was at a loss for words. I didn’t know how to approach this. I didn’t know what to say anymore. I could treat physical wounds, but emotional and mental I was at a loss for. 

“I don’t know what to say anymore. Only that I am not here to use you like a slave. I bought you because I wanted to help you. I knew from the moment I saw you on that stage that you didn’t have much longer to live. I wasn’t going to let someone use up everything that’s left in you then throw you away.” I say to him.

Damon looks at me but doesn’t say anything. I notice he doesn’t look as bad anymore. I place my hand on his forehead (he jerks it back at first but then lets me). It’s no longer hot, and his fever has broken.

“Damon, you’re fever broke finally.” I say to him. I feel pretty happy about this. He doesn’t say anything, but I didn’t care. This was a start! Damon sighs, but I think I see him relax just a little.

“Go on back to sleep.” I say. “I’ll fix your room later tomorrow, or later today actually.” It was 2 in the morning.

He lays back down and turns away from me. I leave his room, shutting the door behind me. Walking just a few steps into my room I take off my coat and throw it aside. Too much had happened tonight; I didn’t want to process it right now, so I push it aside. But I couldn’t push away one thought: what had my blood done to him?

But that was soon gone out of my head as I sat down on my bed. Days of no sleep finally caught up to me and I fell into a death like sleep. But even in my dreams I still tried to figure out what my blood may have done to him.

**Author's Note:**

> This has multiple chapters btw. Next one is almost done! Forgive will I figure out how to use this website. Please comment


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